08 Franchise Brands plc Annual Report and Accounts 2018 CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT continued Kemac & Metro Plumb In contrast to 2017, Kemac had an excellent year in 2018 as a result of a number of large one-off jobs. As it will be difficult to anticipate such work recurring, we have taken the opportunity to place the business onto a more sustainable and predictable footing to assist in the development of Metro Plumb. Kemac was responsible for generating the interest that led to the launch of our first stand-alone Metro Plumb franchise, when two of its employed plumbers became franchisees of the London South-East territory. We are hopeful that this will be the first of many independent Metro Plumb franchises in the future. Metro Plumb has continued to grow rapidly with sales 27% up on 2017. We continue to seek new ways to diversify the customer base and expand the range of services offered. However, as most of the Metro Plumb franchisees are also Metro Rod franchisees – and we have been very demanding of them in 2018 – the limited number of initiatives to grow Metro Plumb have not yet won the full attention of the franchise community. As more Metro Plumb franchise territories are sold to independent franchisees, we expect Metro Plumb to gain additional traction. The drainage market presents a clear consolidation opportunity for Metro Rod, with a strong brand and best-in-class IT systems.